Adventure with the Guys
by blue-eyed-cow
Summary: Harvest Moon AP. What starts as a fun adventure for Elana, the newest rancher, turns into a contest of survival when an enemy of Luke's goes looking for trouble. Now Elana is stuck in a dark cave with four boys, one of which she likes! How will she cope?
1. Chapter 1: Bribes and Blackmail

**A/N: Hey! I hope everyone likes my new story, Adventure with the Guys! I came up with this idea when I was trying to think of a way to reveal some of the characters of Harvest Moon's pasts. The idea came to me into a dream, I changed it around, got some awesome ideas from my little sister (who is 10 times more creative than I am), and this is what was made!**

** It's mostly ChaseXElana (she's my character), but also a little one-sided LukeXElana. At least, I'm hoping it will turn out that way. Other characters will include Owen, Bo, and the Witch Princess. Oh, and the Wizard near the end, because what's a good story without the Wizard?**

** It starts out light and cute, as most of my stories do, but will get more intense later on, I promise! So just stick with me through the boring parts and it will get better! The first chapter is from Elana's POV. **

** Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon Animal Parade, but I do own YOUR SOUL! Haha jk! (maybe…)**

** Enjoy! **

Chapter 1: Bribes and Blackmail 

I yawned, stretching, and then looked around my house with sleepy eyes. It was only 9 o'clock, yet I was _beat._ I shuffled over to my bed and hopped into it. It felt good to lie down, to rest my aching muscles. Not that I had much, anyways. When I had decided to work on the ranch, I didn't expect it to be half as tiring.

I heard Finn settle down next to me on my pillow. He was only about six inches tall, so there was no need for a separate bed or anything. In a few seconds he was snoring soundly, and I was about to get to sleep.

That's when a knock erupted from my door. Startled, I forced myself out of bed, away from Finn, and trudged to the door. I thought it was probably the Mayor or something. He tends to remind me of upcoming events at weird times.

So I was really surprised when I opened the door and found Luke, Owen, and Bo all standing in front of my house, smiling mischievously.

My first thought: Who died?

My second thought: If this is some sort of prank, I'm going to be so pissed.

My third and final thought: Maybe I should just close the door and go to sleep…

Too late for that. Luke, the carpenter's son and probably one of my best guy-friends on the island, had stepped into the doorway. So much for my third thought…

"Hey, Elana! Do you wanna-"

"No." I tried to shut the door, but he was in the way.

"I didn't even ask you yet!" He said, pouting.

"Whatever you guys are up to, count me out. I'm tired."

Owen stepped forward, giving me one of those cool half smiles. Owen was tall, confident, and all muscle; pretty much the complete opposite of me. "C'mon, Elana! It's only 9!"

I glared at him, trying (but probably failing) to make myself look intimidating. "_You_ try working on a farm all day in the hot sun and tell me you're not tired at 9."

He snorted with laughter. "I've been in the mines all day, gathering materials, and _I'm_ not tired!"

Oh, he had a point there. "Fine, you can tell me what you want, but don't think I'll agree to it or anything."

Now Bo stepped into the doorway. He was only twelve; he was the carpenter's apprentice, and lived with Luke. His short, dirty blond hair glistened in the moonlight as he said "Well, Luke and I discovered this really cool cave in Fugue Forest today, so we decided to head back later with some more supplies to check it out!"

Of course. "And why can't you just wait until morning?" But I already knew the answer.

Bo smiled. "Because Luke is very impatient, and we all have to work tomorrow morning."

I groaned and turned back to the blue-haired carpenter, who was now looking hopeful. "Well, Luke, if you want me to come, you're going to have to wait until morning." I rubbed my eyes then continued. "And why bring me? Couldn't you have brought someone else?"

Luke put his hands on his hips, something he did whenever he's being stubborn. "I did! I brought the Garmon Guys!"

The Garmon Guys? That was new. And, what, did Julius not count? Was he not a guy?… oh, wait, I take that back.

"I was going to bring Kathy, but she works all night." Owen added. Kathy was his girlfriend and a friend of mine. She works at Brass Bar all night, so I guess that meant she couldn't come.

"What about Phoebe? Or Chloe? Or just another dude!"

Luke beamed. "'Cause none of them are as cool as you, Elana!"

Well, the kid had a point. But I still wasn't convinced. "I don't know, guys. I'm way tired, and… what would make you think I would want to come anyways?"

A familiar evil smile instantly spread across Luke's face, and I regretted asking. "Because we convinced Chase to come. It's his night off."

Crap. They totally had me.

So, in a few minutes, I was walking alongside the boys, heading towards Flute Fields. Everyone but me had brought supplies; they had all packed some food and water, and flashlights. Luke had brought his axe, and Owen his hammer. I hadn't had time to pack before they whisked me away from my house, but Luke said I wouldn't need much; we weren't going to stay all night or anything.

So now we were sneaking through the night, past the beach and some fields, heading to Fugue Forest. Chase was to meet us there.

Just for the record, Chase is _not_ my boyfriend. Not even close. In fact, I'm almost positive he has no interest in me what so ever. Like, _at all._ So why did I become convinced when they told me Chase was coming? Well, for starters, Chase is _way_ cute. His peach-colored hair is always wavy and messy and pinned back in these hairpins that I think are really girly, (but of course I would never say that to his face!) He has adorable violet eyes, pale skin, and there's always a sarcastic look on his face. Second, I kinda sorta maybe have a _tiny_ crush on him. And Luke kinda sorta maybe knows about that **(A/N: Read my fanfic 'Cooking Lessons with Luke' for more info on that!)**. Which kinda sorta sucks for me.

We were almost to Flute Fields. We approached the large stone bridge that separated my ranch from the fields, and walked over it. It felt weird not to have Finn at my shoulder, telling me what to do. He was still in my bed, sleeping soundly. I was hardly ever without him.

Now the guys were dragging me past Marimba farms and Chase's house, and up the hill that led to not only Horn Ranch, but the entrance to Fugue Forest if you took a sharp left. I was never a huge fan of the forest, especially at night. The trees were thick and blocked out the moonlight, and if you were unlucky you might accidentally stumble into the Witch Princess' swamp. This used to be a problem for me until I helped turn her back into an actual person and not a frog (long story), and now her and I were almost friends. But her swamp was still a little creepy.

But, oddly enough, I felt a little safer with Luke. He spends a lot of time in the Forest, and probably knows it by heart. At least, I hope he does.

We ducked down under some branches and walked past some trees until we reached a small clearing; the official entrance to the forest. There were three things in the clearing. This first was an old door that was embedded deep in the twisting, thick tree trucks. Unless you wanted to go around, which would take a while, you needed to go through the door. And to go through the door, you needed a key. I had one, as did the carpenters and some of the locals. The second thing in the clearing was a note pinned to a tree. It was a warning sign stating that the forest was like a maze, and that it is unsafe and unlawful to enter without and axe and a hammer (although I was pretty sure Luke doesn't own a hammer). The last thing in the clearing; Chase.

He was leaning against the thick tree when we approached. He straightened up and looked at the guys blandly, as I expected. I don't know how they convinced him to do this, but I bet it was some sort of bribe. Or blackmail. Chase hates these sorts of things. He also isn't a huge fan of Luke. I could already tell this wasn't going to go too well.

Then he saw me, and a rush of anger and annoyance spread over his face, but not towards me. Instead he looked at Luke, his violet eyes meeting Luke's hazel, cat-like ones, and hissed, "You forced her to come, too? Didn't anyone ever tell you that you can't force people to do something they don't want to do?"

Luke beamed in response, making Chase fume. "They probably did, but I probably wasn't listening." Classic Luke.

"Can we just get this over with?" Chase asked, just as I said, "Hurry up, I'm tired." We exchanged glances, and then looked away.

Luke was smiling evilly as he said, "Ok, c'mon, Garmon Guys, let's go!" And he unlocked the door and charged straight into the forest, yelling out what sounded like a battle cry. Owen and Bo followed his lead, leaving Chase and I to follow at a more sane pase.

We strolled past trees and rocks, getting deeper and deeper into the forest. The "Garmon Guys" didn't even hesitate on which way to turn, which either meant they knew their way by heart, or they were just guessing. I hoped it was the first option.

At first I was nervous, walking along at night with Chase. It wasn't like I didn't trust him in the dark or anything (he's not that kind of person), I was just afraid he wouldn't want to be with me. But after a while we started talking, and Luke was cracking jokes, and Bo was humming, and Owen was just laughing the whole way. And soon I was laughing, too, despite being tired. I unraveled and opened up. Maybe this would actually be fun!

Little did I know, we were being watched.

**A/N: And that's my attempt at a cliffhanger!**

**Don't forget to review! I love reviews; they make me so happy! **

**I hope you all liked the chapter. As I said before, it will get better! I just needed to get this part out of the way.**

**I'll update if you review! That's my deal! **

**Thank you so much! **

**~blue-eyed-cow**


	2. Chapter 2: Smothered Confidence

**A/N: Welcome to chapter 2! Ok, let me just tell everyone right now that this chapter was **_**very**_** hard to write. It's long, dramatic, and has **_**way**_** too many things to remember to add. It took me forever to write and to correct, so even though I went over it a million times, I know it still had a few mistakes or I left a few parts out. So please forgive me!**

** Despite being hard to write, this chapter was also interesting to write. It was a real challenge; so let's see what you guys think of it! Please review! :)**

** So here it is! Oh, and any Owen fans, please don't kill me!**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade. I do own a popsicle stick, which is providing me with hours of entertainment! **

Chapter 2: Smothered Confidence 

After about twenty minutes or so of walking through the winding, dark forest, Luke came to an abrupt halt. Of course we just _had_ to be walking in a straight line when he did because of the narrow path, so it caused a chain reaction. Bo crashed into Luke, Owen crashed into Bo, causing the twelve-year-old to fall, and I crashed into Owen's hard back, which hurt. Chase was the only one who didn't collide. He was a few steps behind, looking at us with a 'really now?' expression on his face. Rubbing my nose, I helped Bo up and shot an annoyed glance at Luke. But Luke didn't even seem to notice; he was staring in front of him, smiling.

That's when I noticed where we were. We had reached a huge stone wall. And in front of us was the entrance to a cave. The hole was about 12 feet tall and 7 feet wide. I couldn't see anything inside of the cave; only darkness. So I was thankful when the Garmon Guys flicked on their flashlights.

"Ready?" Owen asked. He sounded confident, as usual.

"You're sure this is safe?" I wanted to double-check.

The tall redhead looked down at me and nodded. "Pretty sure. I've been in a lot of caves, and this one doesn't look too different from the rest."

Luke was bouncing on his feet. "Let's go!" And he ran in first, quickly followed by everyone else, not wanting to be left behind.

Just as I thought, the cave was dark and wet. I could hear water splashing under Luke's boots, dripping from the moldy ceiling, and bubbling in what must have been a spring. The cave sounded huge: Luke's yells of "Woooow!" or "Look at that!" echoed off the walls and filled the vast space with noise. I could see a few bugs scuttling over rocks, fleeing from the harsh light of the flashlights. A shiver ran up my spine. I did not like bugs.

I was just taking a good look around when it happened. A low cackling suddenly erupted from outside. All heads and flashlight beams spun to face the noise. For one horrible moment nothing happened. And then…

BA-BA-BOOOOM!

And a flash of blinding light.

I immediately clapped my hands over my ears as the explosion erupted into the cave. Everything shook, and then, when I though it was over, there came a loud rumbling from the entrance. Everyone stood frozen as the rumbling continued, and the next second rocks were falling from above. And I was still standing close to the entrance. Crap.

I was rooted on the spot, too afraid to move. Oh, my gosh, I'm going to be crushed! I shut my eyes as they fell…

"Elana!"

I felt myself being knocked off my feet as someone threw them self into me, knocking me out of the way. My breath left me in a whoosh as I landed on the cold, hard ground, and for a second everything was chaos. I could hear rocks continue to fall, could see light disappear from the cave as flashlights were dropped and rolled away. The rocks piled up the entrance, blocking the outside world from view. I heard someone let out a yell of pain. I had no idea who it was, or who was on me, or who was calling everyone's name…

Then it stopped, just like that. Nothing went bang, no more light, no more rocks. Pebbles fell from the now unsteady roof of the cave, finishing up the job of blocking the entrance. I felt some plop onto my head, but it didn't hurt. I was still being crushed by whoever was trying to protect me.

Then a light flickered back on. Heads turned to find Bo, holding a retrieved flashlight. The twelve-year-old looked very shaken, but unharmed.

Another one flickered on. Luke was holding his own flashlight. Just like Bo, he was looking scared, but didn't have any visible injuries. So that left…

The weight of the boy who tackled me suddenly left, and a hand made it's way into my vision. "C'mon, get up. Are you ok?" It was Chase.

I shakily took his hand and he helped me up. My legs felt numb. I could feel drops of warm liquid running down my leg from scraped on my knees, and my elbow was killing. But I swallowed my pain and nodded.

Chase looked pale, his purple eyes looked dimmed. Then I remembered that he had pushed me out of the way of the falling rocks… I gasped, "Are _you_ ok? Did any hit you?"

"I'm fi-"

"Where's Owen!" Luke suddenly broke in. My breath suddenly caught in my throat. Oh, no.

Flashlight beams suddenly started sweeping the area. Luke was frantically yelling his friend's name, and Bo ran over to the clogged entrance and started searching. I was scared. Terrified. Owen… please be ok… please don't be under the rocks…

I was shaking. I felt tears weld up in my eyes, but stubbornly wiped them away. I would _not_ cry right now. Thank god the light of the flashlights weren't on me.

I felt a hand reach out and take my own. Startled, I looked at Chase. Even in the dark I could tell he wasn't looking at me, but that couldn't have been anyone else's hand in mine.

"It's ok." I heard him whisper, barely audible. If I wasn't shaking before, I was shaking like crazy now. Chase? Holding my hand?

I shook my head and took a deep breath. Owen was ok… Owen had to be ok…

"Owen!" Bo called at that exact moment. It wasn't like 'Owen!' like Luke was frantically calling, more like 'Owen!' like, excited. Like he had just found him.

I forced myself to let go of the chef's hand and ran over to where Bo was, trying not to trip. Luke and Chase stumbled over, too. Bo was in the corner of the cave near the entrance, where extra rocks that had fallen off the pile had tumbled down.

And there was Owen. He was sitting down, face twisted with pain. For a second I couldn't see why; the light was weird. But then I saw that rocks had fallen onto his left leg. He was stuck, desperately trying to pull his leg out from the tumble of heavy rocks. Then he noticed us. He turned his head to look up at us; we were standing on another pile of fallen rocks. He tried his best to give us a smile, but it didn't really work. His face was smeared with dirt.

"H-hey guys. I'm sorta stuck… I t-tried to get out of the way… M-my hammer's in my bag…"

I was first to jump for it. Surprising myself as well as everyone else, I skidded to a halt next to where Owen's abandoned backpack lay, and opened it up. I pulled out the heavy bronze hammer; a lot fancier than my old one was.

"Elana, maybe I should do it…" Luke started, but I shook my head. "I mine more than you do, Luke. I can do it." I didn't care if I sounded like a stubborn three-year-old; I had to help Owen. I would _not_ loose my older brother figure because of some stupid rocks in some stupid cave!

"Ok, Elana, think you can break the rocks without breaking my leg?" Owen joked weakly.

_More broken than it already is?_ I couldn't help but think as I nodded. Without thinking it through, (because if I did I would have been scared out of my mind), I raised the heavy tool over my head (Ow, elbow!), aimed it at the biggest rock, and swung it down.

There was a loud CRACK! I looked down and saw that the first rock had already split. Ok, I could do this… "Was that ok, Owen?"

He bit his lip and flinched, but nodded. "Yeah. Keep doing that."

And I did. And soon the pile of rocks was getting easier and easier to move. Once I cracked one open, one of the guys would move the smaller pieces out of the way. Little by little, the pile was shrinking.

Finally, I took a whack at the last big rock. It split, and we all bent down to push the pieces away. I felt like an archeologist or something, moving small pieces of rocks to uncover something. Only I wasn't too excited to discover what I would find…

This whole time Owen had been flinching, one time he even let out a yelp. I could only imagine what it felt like to have people cracking rocks on your leg. I mean, that hammer must be heavy, right?

So I wasn't too surprised when we cleared away the rest of the rocks and found blood on our hands. Owen leg looked completely totaled. It was black and blue all over and bleeding heavily in multiple places. It was twisted an odd way, and looked oddly… _flat._

I gulped down nausea as I heard Bo say, "I think I'm gunna be sick…"

Luke was already at his friend's side. Owen put his arm around Luke's shoulder and Luke wrapped his arm around Owen's back and under the arm on the opposite side. I was still getting over the fact that Luke actually knew what to do when I saw Chase run over and do the same on Owen's other side. They're like a rescue squad or something.

"Elana, grab his backpack. Bo, take my flashlight. Let's bring him over to where the rocks didn't reach." Luke didn't sound like himself. He didn't sound like that goofy 14-year-old he was a few hours ago. His voice was flat and he sounded strangely grown-up.

So I grabbed the open pack as the two boys helped Owen over the piles of rocks. He was heavier than both Luke and Chase, but they did pretty good as they half helped half dragged him deeper into the cave. With the help of Luke's flashlight, now in the possession of Bo, I could see pretty well now. The falling rocks had stopped twenty or so feet from the entrance.

When we got to a spot where the rocks didn't reach, the two boys gently set Owen onto the ground against the cave wall. Owen sat up, face unusually pale and weak looking. It was sad to see someone so strong, so confident, in that state.

And then that same instinct that took over when I dove for the hammer took over once again. Suddenly determined, I turned to Chase.

"Give me your apron." I said steadily.

He raised a slender eyebrow, but didn't object to the force in my voice. He untied his thin dark blue apron, slipped it off, and gave it to me. Now he was only wearing a green button-up shirt and blue pants. Wow, he looks hot…

No, stay focused! "Luke, water."

In a second the carpenter handed me a jug of water. Having everything I needed, I ripped off an end of the thin apron with all of my might. A small piece came off, and I dribbled water over it. Then I got to work.

In a few minutes Owen's leg had been cleaned and bandaged in a makeshift cast. I was really hoping Chase wasn't too attached to that apron…

I was just examining my work when Luke interrupted my train of thoughts. "Elana, that was awesome! How did you do that?"

I blushed. "It's not that hard. My mom's a nurse, so I learned a little from her. I couldn't completely stop the bleeding, so, Owen, if you starts to feel really dizzy or anything…"

Owen was beaming now, too. "Your awesome, Elana! It feels better already!" He showed me a weak grin, and I smiled back. _Ok, so he's doing better_, I thought as the blacksmith adjusted himself, wincing, and let out a sigh.

"Elana, you're hurt, too." Bo said in a timid voice.

I had completely forgotten. I bent my head down to look at my knees. The cuts weren't deep at all, so it didn't really matter. And my elbow…

I tried bending it experimentally, and let out a surprised yelp. I hadn't even noticed how much it had been hurting this entire time.

Realizing I was still being watched, I turned back to Bo and smiled.

"I'm ok! No biggy!" I ripped off another piece of Chase's shrinking apron, lying on the floor, and attempted to wrap my right elbow with my left hand. This wasn't really working…

Chase came over and was now helping me wrap it. I watched as he slowly wrapped the fabric around it a few times, and then tied it. I smiled. "Thanks!"

He grunted in response and then staggered back to the cave wall and sunk down against it, wincing. Wait… staggered? Wincing?

I narrowed my eyes. "Chase, _take off your shirt."_

He looked at me with wide eyes. "What?"

Luke suddenly burst with laughter "Haha! Chase, better do what she, haha, says!" He couldn't go on. Even Owen was snickering.

I rolled my eyes. "Grow up. Chase is hurt, too. Don't try to hide it."

Chase also narrowed his eyes at me, but said no more. I guess he gave in, because he let out an annoyed sigh and unbuttoned his shirt.

Oh, my gosh. The kid looked like he was _glowing_! Who was he, Edward Cullen?

I mentally slapped myself. _Stay focused!_ "Ok, now stand up and turn around. Bo, shine the light over here."

Looking uncomfortable, Chase turned around to face the wall, as the light fell onto him, leaving me staring at his bare back. Which, as I suspected, was bad.

Just like Owen's leg, his back was covered in bruises. And…

I groaned. "Chase, is that blood running down your neck?"

I saw his shoulder tense. "How am I supposed to know?"

"You said you were fine!" I hissed. I could almost picture him rolling his eyes right now.

"I _am_ fine."

"Oh, right, and head injuries are totally classified as fine, right?"

"You worry too much."

"You _don't_ worry too much!"

"Thank you."

I was about to retort when Luke, once again, cut in from his sitting position on the floor. "Would you two stop bickering like an old married couple? Chase, let Elana do whatever she wants with you! She's the smart one!"

We both blushed. I heard Chase grumble "Fine."

I took a breath in. "Ok, well there's not much I can do for your back. It's not like I have ice to stop the swelling. It's not broken, or bleeding. So just don't, like, mess with it or anything and it should be ok."

I ran my hand up his back, and he winced. Then I ran it up to his head. I stopped when I felt sticky liquid under my hand. Bingo. Chase's thin, wavy hair was already becoming wet with his own blood.

I tried my best to stay calm. My mom had always told me head wounds bleed a lot more than regular one's, so it's not as bad as it looks…

"Right." I knew just what to do.

It's easy, really. First you have to get rid of the blood. So I took a wet piece of the apron and started wiping. When it was cleaned up, I could easily find the source of the bleeding. There was a large gash on the back of his head, probably where a rock had landed.

_That could have been my head,_ I reminded myself, remembering how Chase took the rocks for me.

"Keep pressure on it." I instructed him, putting a piece of the cloth to the wound. "We need to stop the bleeding."

He did so without objecting, which was good. I bent down and tore a long piece of he apron off. That would be good.

And in a few minutes his head was done bleeding and all wrapped up. I beamed at my own work. Not perfect, Irene could have done better, but the Harvest Goddess knows I've tried! "M'kay! You're all done!"

Chase feebly brought a hand up to his head. I heard him mumble thanks.

There was a weird moment of complete silence where Chase slipped his shirt back on and sunk down next to Owen. Everything was quiet. The only sound was water dripping somewhere off in the distance. Then…

"Are we going to be able to get out of here?" Bo whimpered. From the glow of the flashlight, I could see he looked really scared. I didn't blame him, personally.

I saw Luke smile, but it was missing its usual glow. "Yeah! We'll find a way out! And I'm sure if we yell a lot or something, people are bound to hear us! C'mon, Elana and I will go right now!" Luke grabbed the spare flashlight, hopped up, and before I could object I was grabbed by the wrist and led me towards the entrance.

He brought me over piles of rocks until we reached the biggest one, the one blocking the way out. From what I could see, it looked completely hopeless: it looked like the rocks had covered every inch of the outside world.

But that didn't stop Luke. He was already moving rocks, scrambling around, looking for weak points. Soon he called down to me from his place on top of the pile. "Hey, Elana! I found a hole! Not big enough to fit through, though…" His yell echoed off the walls of the cave.

"Throw me the flashlight!" I yelled back. He threw it over and I easily caught it with my good arm. Shining the light in front of me, I scrambled up the steep hill to where Luke was.

Sure enough, he had found a small gap where the rocks had missed. It was high above the ground outside, so even if we could fit through it would be about a ten-foot drop. But, luckily and unluckily, it didn't look like any of us could fit through.

I shook my head. "Too small. Maybe Bo could fit, but-"

Luke laughed. "With that big head of his?"

"I heard that!" Bo called up to us, and now we both laughed.

I turned back to the small hole. "Ok, think any one can hear us if we yell loud enough?" I practically whispered to Luke.

"It's worth a shot." He replied back smoothly.

Next thing I knew we were both yelling into the hole at the top of our lungs. Things like "HELP!" or, "WE'RE STUCK!"

But after a good ten minutes of that, we were pretty sure no one was coming. Disappointed, we slunk back down to our makeshift campsite.

"Didn't work." Luke stated the obvious.

I sighed. "Well, if we're going to be in here for a while, we might as well make a fire or something…"

Luke perked up. "I have wood in my bag!"

We all stared at him. "Why do you have wood in your bag?"

He shrugged. "I'm a carpenter. I carry wood around with me!"

Even Owen looked confused. "Since when?"

Luke made a face. "Since forever!"

I dropped the subject. "Anyone have matches?"

"I might." Owen said hesitantly. "Check my bag."

Sure enough, I found a small box of matches hidden inside the backpack. I smiled. "Perfect. Bo, go get some small rocks from the pile to make a fire pit with. I really don't want anyone to catch on fire today."

And there we have it! A fire. Aren't I smart? Thank god the wood wasn't wet, because it didn't release too much smoke. Which was good, considering the only way for the smoke to get out of the cave was a tiny hole 10-feet off the ground.

Now we all sat around the fire, flashlights turned off to save the energy. We looked horrible; we were all covered in dirt, and some of us in bandages and blood. But, besides the bad appearances, I thought we were doing pretty darn good! We had shelter (if a deadly cave that could collapse at any moment counted as shelter), a fire, and plenty of food and water, courtesy of the Garmon Guys. So this wasn't too bad, right?

"Do you think someone will find us?" Bo asked.

Owen, who was looking tired but a lot less hurt, nodded. "Yeah, defiantly! People are bound to come looking for us! I bet Dale and Ramsey are probably out searching right now!"

Bo smiled. "You think so?"

"Yeah." Owen leaned back against the wall, mangled leg outstretched in front of him. "Plus, we have Elana here!" He laughed lightly. "Didn't know she was Little Miss Survival! With her, I'm pretty sure we can overcome anything."

Luke jumped in. "Yeah! I don't know how we got stuck here, but Elana will make everything better." He turned to me with those cat-like eyes and gave me a warm smile. "Right?"

Now all the boys were looking at me, smiling. Even Chase gave me a small smile.

That's when I was driven overboard. I was too tired to deal with this. I _couldn't_ deal with this. This whole time I was being strong, I was being confident, I was being brave. I had pushed all negative thought out of my mind. I promised myself I wouldn't let anything happen to these guys, and I kept my promise. I had become something I never was: a hero. But that's not me. That's not the 15-year-old girl without any muscle who didn't know what she was getting into when she agreed to move here. That's who I really am. And I couldn't accept the fact that the guys were now relying on me. That was just too much. And suddenly I let all the emotions that had been building up inside of me release. I let them out in a rush: Fear, anger, worry, frustration, anxiety, and all those others. This was all too much…

And I did something I had been trying not to do this entire time. I sunk down onto my knees, buried my head in my hands, and cried my heart out.

**A/N: Aww, poor Elana! Her luck doesn't really increase any time soon, either. **

** I know the chapter was long, dramatic, and bloody. So if any of you people don't like that kind of stuff, please forgive me! I try my best to make everyone happy. **

** Don't worry, Owen and Chase will be ok!**

** The next chapter will reveal a lot about some of the character's pasts, which was why I wrote this story in the first place. **

** Like I said before, this was a hard chapter to write, so forgive me if it had too many errors for your liking!**

** Please review! I won't update if you don't.**

** Oh, and one last thing: if any one has any ideas for Bo's past, I would love to hear them. I think I have everyone else's, but I still need some ideas for Bo. If you have any ideas for other characters, too, I would also love to hear them, but I can't guarantee I'll add them. Thanks so much! **

** Thanks for reading! You guys are awesome! :D**

** ~blue-eyed-cow**


	3. Chapter 3: Midnight Confessions

**A/N: And here is Chapter 3! I honestly was really busy with my other stories for a while and wasn't really focused on updating this one, but then I went away for a week. I didn't have Internet, so really the only thing I could do was type! So that's what I did!**

** This chapter is slightly longer than the 2****nd**** one. It's not as, like, 'bloody' dramatic as the last one. It's a lot more, I don't know, calm? Anyways, I hope you guys like it just as much as you (hopefully) liked the last one.**

** Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! And thank you to **_**Clairabelle, Harvest Loon, **_**and **_**Fox **_**for giving me ideas for Bo's past. In the end, though, I had to choose Fox's idea. Sorry! I loved all of the ideas! But I decided to use an idea that didn't involve his parents dying. Sorry, but when you think about it, it doesn't really fit. Dale doesn't really act like a father towards Bo in the game. I think if Bo's parents were dead, Dale would probably act more fatherly to him. So that's why I went with Fox's idea. Plus, I just really liked it :)**

** So here is chapter 3! I hope you all like it!**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade. I also don't own the chapter title 'Midnight Confessions', because I think it was a chapter title from a manga called +Anima. But the game Luke made up, also called Midnight Confessions, that's all mine.**

Chapter 3: Midnight Confessions

We were all sitting around the dim light of the crackling fire, not talking. It had been about ten minutes since my little meltdown. I had felt so stupid, breaking down like that. I was supposed to be the strong one in this situation. The survivalist. Now I had proven to the four boys that I was still weak. Which means, I had thought, they would probably be trying to baby me, or something, now. Great.

But it didn't really happen like that. Instead, the guys had whispered words of comfort to me, and I managed to calm down pretty quickly. Bo and Owen had promised me that we would get out of this mess, no sweat. Luke wouldn't stop chatting, probably trying to take my mind off things. And Chase, well, Chase didn't really say anything. He just sort of sat in the background, as still as possible. If I didn't know him any better, I would have thought he even looked a little guilty.

So, ten minutes later, we were hushed into complete silence, all staring quietly into the fire. Even Luke, the one who had been nicknamed "Chatter-Box" by Chase, was staying silent. I guess near-death situations can do that to a guy.

I was lost in thought. I still felt like an idiot for breaking down like that, but at least they hadn't really said anything about it. Maybe they would forget it happened. That would be nice.

I was suddenly staring to feel lonely when a thought struck me. Or, rather, just a single word struck me: Finn. My heart ached when I thought about him, probably asleep in the bed I longed to be in right now, and unaware I was in this mess. I had never been away from him this long before since I had met him. I was worried about the little Harvest Sprite. I wondered if he was worried about me.

I lifted my head vaguely as my eyes scanned my fellow "cave-dwellers". Owen wasn't looking too good: the bandage wrapped around his leg was become stained with blood. He was swaying slightly, even when propped up against the wall, and his eyes looked blood-shot.

Bo looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack. The freckled twelve-year-old's eyes were darting this way and that, and he wouldn't stop squirming.

Luke was just sitting there, displaying no emotion on his face, staring into the fire. Occasionally he would shift slightly, or reach up to pick at that old Band-Aid on his nose, adjust his axe in his belt loop, but that was really about it.

And, Chase…

…was holding my hand.

Yeah, you heard right. Ever since I had calmed down and we had taken our seats around the fire, he had sat down next to me and placed his hand over my gloved one on the ground. I was surprised, just as I had been the first time he held my hand today, but didn't say anything. If the other guys could see our intertwined hands right now, they didn't say anything either, which I was grateful of. Just like before, Chase wasn't even looking at me. He was just looking into the fire a rather bored look on his face, as usual. His apron was still lying on the ground, ripped and dirty, so he still only had that button-down shirt on and jeans. In my opinion, he should take the apron off more often. In fact, the only thing ruining his stunning look were those bandages wrapped around his head. Stupid bandages.

Finally, the one who always seemed to break the silence broke it. "Is anyone hungry? We brought lots of food! And if we run out of water I think there's a spring somewhere deeper in the cave. Can't you hear it? I can. So just eat up and-"

"_Luke._" Bo had to put a hand on his friend's shoulder to shut him up. "I don't think anyone's hungry."

Luke's eyes sank to the floor. "Oh. Ok."

I felt a little sorry for Luke for being singled out again as "Chatter-Box", so I decided it was high-time I started talking, too. "So, does anyone know how the heck we got into this mess?"

All eyes turned towards me again. They were probably just surprised I was suddenly in the mood for talking. I rubbed my hurt elbow, suddenly embarrassed. Well, whatever.

Luke looked thoughtful. "Well… didn't you want to go to bed at, like, 9 o'clock or something? Then we came and told you about the cave, but you didn't want to go, so we told you Chase was-"

I cut him off with a glare before he could get to the next part. "_After_ that. I mean how did we get stuck in here? It couldn't just have been a random avalanche."

Owen, being the expert on caves, answered my question. "No, it was defiantly some kind of explosion. Natural or unnatural, I'm not sure."

Bo was shaking. "B-but what about that cackling sound before the explosion?"

"It sounded so familiar… but I can't think of where it's from…" Luke said with a far-off voice.

I guess no one had an answer, because we were all quiet for some time again.

A great thought then struck me, and I instantly wondered why I hadn't thought of it before. "Hey, Hey! Does anyone here have a cell phone? I don't know if we'd get any reception here, but it's worth a shot!"

But I just got a combination of blank looks and sad looks in response, so I guess the answer to my question is no, no one here has a cell phone. I sighed. "I had one before I came here, but they said the island was so low-tech I wouldn't need one. I mean, there aren't even any cars here!"

Owen nodded. "Yeah, I was too young to have one before I moved here, so my parents offered to give me one, but then they heard that virtually no one on the island had one so-."

Bo spoke up. "I was too little to have a cell phone when I came… but I remember all my older siblings had them."

"Yeah, I was too little to have one, too…" Chase spoke for the first time, making me jump. Even when I was holding his hand, I nearly forgot he was there.

We all expected Luke to say something on the matter next, but there was just a blank look on his face. Then he said, "What the heck is a cell phone?"

We all started laughing. We couldn't help it! Even Chase was snickering.

Luke put his hands on his hips, _again._ "You can't blame me! I've never left the island! Now someone pleeeaaase tell me what it is!"

I think Owen explained it to him, but I was too distracted by a new thought to listen. The thought: everyone but Luke here hasn't lived on the island their whole life, and I didn't know anything about their lives before they moved here! Or even after they moved here, really. I practically knew nothing about their past. Now, I'm not as impatient as Luke, but I am _not_ a huge fan of not knowing things. I like to know things! I wanted to know about the guys' childhoods, as stalker-ish as that sounds.

But I took a breath and told myself to be patient, knowing the time to reveal them would come soon. I hope.

After we had settled down again, Luke started talking, but not about cell phones. "Hey, Elana?"

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you tired? You were tired at 9, and now it's," he checked his watch, "almost 11."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I'm tired, but I don't want to go to bed. Besides, near-death experiences really wake you up."

Chase turned to face me, finally. "Why don't you want to go to bed?"

The answer came out of my mouth before I had time to think it over. "Because, I am _not_ going to sleep while stuck in a cave with 4 _guys._ Unless there's some danger-free, secluded, comfy, boy-free corner I can crawl into and sleep, I'm not closing my eyes for a second."

Everyone's eyebrows shot up and I heard Luke muffle a snicker.

"You don't trust us?" Owen asked with a playful tone.

"Nope." That was my immediate answer.

Luke had finally controlled his snickering and a thoughtful face replaced it. "Ok, if does anyone else want to sleep? Owen, Chase, you guys are hurt, and Bo looks like he's about to have a seizure, so-"

Chase's eyes narrowed. "And leave _you_ alone with Elana? No freaking way."

Matching blushes exploded onto Luke's face and my face.

Owen let out a hearty laugh. "I guess that means we're all staying up!"

I shook away the blush and turned to the redhead. "Are you sure, Owen? You don't look so good, maybe you could use some rest."

But that confident smile was enough to convince me. "Nah, I'm ok. I'll go to sleep when everyone else does."

I shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Luke, who had just stopped glaring at Chase, spoke up. "Ok, we need to play a game!"

"A game?" Chase raised an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh! A game! I'm thinking maybe truth or dare?"

"No." I said immediately. I didn't even know guys played truth or dare! "It'd be awkward, considering I'm the only girl here."

"Fair enough…" Luke thought for a second. Then, as we watched, his thoughtful face turned into an evil grin, and his hazel, cat-like eyes flickered in the firelight. "I know a game we could play."

The Garmon Guys all groaned, knowing that look on his face all-too-well.

"W-what's the game, Luke?" Bo asked timidly.

The carpenter sat up a little straighter and crossed his arms over his chest triumphantly. "It's called _Midnight Confessions!_ And I just made it up!"

I saw Chase roll his eyes. "Of course you did. And I thought you just said it was only 11 o'clock? So why Midnight?"

Luke pointed a menacing finger in Chase's direction. "Quiet, you!"

I giggled. Chase groaned. Yet his grip never slackened on my hand.

Luke cleared his throat. "Let me explain. Ok, well you know how at sleepovers sometimes when it gets really late some people just start pouring out all their secrets and confessions to some random person they don't even know very well?"

Once again, another thing I thought boys _did not do_ at sleepovers.

Luke didn't wait for an answer. "Well that's what it is! We just take turns telling everyone about our pasts and our family and all that other crap! I thought of it when we were talking about cell phones." He looked proud of himself.

My eyes grew wide. This was what I had been waiting for! I had never wanted to hug Luke this bad before! Well, I guess I've never wanted to hug Luke, but still! I _needed_ to get the other guys to play.

"I'm in." I said bravely. The Owen, Bo, and Chase looked surprised at my sudden interest. "I-it sounds fun! A good way to pass the time, yeah know?" _Please play, please play, please plea-_

"Yeah, I'm in, too." Owen said. "This should be interesting."

"O-ok. If you guys are playing…" Bo stammered.

Finally, Chase sighed. "Fine. I'll play your stupid game. But don't think I'm going to start pouring out all my emotions and start, like, crying or something. We'll leave that to Bo."

"Hey!" Bo exclaimed, but Chase ignored him.

I was beaming. "Ok, Luke, you start!"

Luke had a blank look on his face for a second. "Hmm… ok… well, since I've never played before, let's see how this goes."

"We can add things occasionally," I suggested, "like ask questions or something. You know, to help you along?"

He looked so happy because I was actually getting into this. "Yeah! If I'm stuck, ask questions!"

He took a deep breath. "Ok, here I go!"

"My name is Luke. I'm 14. I've lived in Garmon Mine my entire life. My dad is Dale, the carpenter. I- I had a mom, too." He paused, a far-away look suddenly plastered onto his face. A pang of sympathy hit me when I realized what he was going to say. "She was kind of a prankster, like me, I guess. She was awesome. Really funny, and nice, and, I dunno, stuff. But when I was 8 I got into a fight with my dad. I-I got upset or something so I ran off." He paused, probably thinking about what happened next. I felt bad. I knew what was coming. "Normally when I run off I hide in Fugue Forest, but I didn't want anyone to find me that day. So I hid," he suddenly looked at me, "inside the old abandoned farm house. Your house, Elana, before anyone lived there."

My breath caught in my throat. I didn't even know it was open to anyone back then. Especially to an 8-year-old Luke, hiding from his parents. I looked down at the floor. Luke was really a natural at this. If I were him, I wouldn't be able to tell anyone this stuff.

He continued. "My mom wanted to go after me, so of course she ran over to Fugue Forest. And when she was searching there…" His eyes looked blank. "A typhoon hit. She couldn't get out of the forest in time." He rested his head in his arms, as his voice grew heavier. "Then lightning struck the tree she was standing just a little too close to, and that was it. Sometimes I still think it's my fault."

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. I felt so bad. I didn't even know why he wanted to play this game with a past like that. Part of me wanted to get up right now and go give him a hug.

"Ever since then my dad's got a drinking problem and goes to the bar every night."

The desire to hug was getting worse.

But suddenly a smile worked his way back onto Luke's face. "But I don't like to get sad over stuff like that. I like to smile. Smiling is fun." The smile grew bigger. "What else?… I met Owen when I was 3, and Bo started working for my dad when I was 11…" He tapped his finger on his chin. "And… oh yeah! I have a dog. The end!"

We all stared at him. _That's _how he ended his life's story? With 'I have a dog!' That was so like him. He was still smiling.

"Sorry, Luke…" Bo said quietly. I saw Owen nod in agreement.

Luke smiled. "I will accept that apology if you guys can do a confession as good as that one! Because you have to admit, that was pretty beast!"

I laughed. "Yup, you're a natural! I don't know how you said that so easily. It's going to be harder for the rest of u-"

"Elana goes next!"

I stared wildly at the blue-haired axemen. "W-why me!"

He shrugged. "Because."

"What an answer…" I grumbled.

Then I felt Chase give my hand a reassuring squeeze. I gave him a side-glance. He was looking at me, giving me a cute half-smile.

I sighed. "Fine."

"My name is Elana and I'm 15 years old. Um… my favorite color is red, my favorite food is anything sweet, and my pet peeve is when people call me Elena instead of Elana."

Luke laughed. "C'mon, Elena, get onto the juicy stuff!"

I glared at him. "Fine. I have a mom, who's a nurse, and a little brother named Cooper. He's 5, but he'll turn 6 in a week." I thought. What else…?

Luke's hand shot up into the air and he began to wave it around like an over-eager kindergartener. I sighed. "Yes, Luke?"

"What about your dad? And why did you decided to move here? And do you have a dog as awesome as mine?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I don't have a dog, I had a hamster."

"A hamster?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, ma'm!"

"Ok, well… my dad died four seasons ago in a fire. You see, he was a car-repairman so-"

To my surprise, Chase was the one who interrupted. "What?"

I shrugged, rubbing my elbow vaguely. "Yeah, well…"

"Wait… 4 seasons ago? Didn't you only move here 2 seasons ago?"

Not knowing Chase had been keeping track, I shrugged once again. I didn't see what the big deal was. "Yeah. Why is that a problem?"

Silence filled the cave, making me nervous once again. "Let me finish my story and you'll see why, ok?"

"So he, uh, died, and my mom wasn't handling it very well. So she quit her job as a nurse. Then, of course, our family needed money and my mom couldn't do anything, so I heard from someone that Casanet Island needed a new rancher and," I smiled, "here I am! I send my mom half the profits I make at the end of every season, and keep the other half for the ranch." I thought for a second. "And that's pretty much it!" And of course, I thought, I met Finn on right before my departure to the Island and got caught up in all this 'saving the land' crap…

"So…" Luke looked confused. "You're mom quit her job because she was, like, depressed. And then you decided you could make money for her? Not to be rude, but doesn't that make your mom sound a little selfish?"

My eyes were glued to the floor. "Well, um, she was going through a hard time, and I couldn't just sit back and do nothing. I mean, she had every right to quit her job. I guess…" I felt uncomfortable, but if telling them about my past is what's going to get them to tell me about theirs, it was worth it.

"Elana?"

"Yeah, Bo?"

"W-well you don't sound very sad about your fathers death… um…"

I smiled, knowing this would come up sooner or later. "Of course I'm sad! He's my dad! But I know that if I wanted to keep my family strong and work hard, then I would have to be strong, too. So I try not to get too upset about it."

The guys smiled. I smiled back.

Luke cleared his throat. "Ok! I think that was a pretty awesome confession, but not as awesome as mine!" I stuck my tongue out at him playfully, which he quickly did in return. "So I think it's Owen's turn next!"

I looked over at Owen, propped up against the wall, and bandaged leg outstretched in front of him. The boy shrugged. "It won't be very exciting. Sorry to disappoint, you, Luke."

"Then we'll make it exciting!" was Luke's response.

The blacksmith laughed lightly. "Ok, here I go."

"My name is Owen and I'm 17 years old. I'm going to start out boring like Elana did: my favorite color is black, favorite food is boiled corn, and pet peeve is when people complain how hard mining is. Because, really, if it's that hard, then don't even do it."

I was racking my brain; trying to remember if I had ever told him mining was hard, when Luke spoke. "BORING!"

Owen rolled his eyes. "I'm getting there! Ok, well I didn't…" he pondered for the right word, "_behave_ very well as a kid. My parents were really stuck-up; my dad was a lawyer and my mom was a stay-at-home mom. We lived in this huge house and stuff and they _hated_ when I broke something, or got something dirty, or stayed out playing too late, or just didn't listen to them in general.

"So one day, when I was 6, they decided to send me over to Casanet to live with my granduncle, Ramsey, for a year. I wasn't too psyched about it at first. But then I realized that I was meant to be a blacksmith. I really liked it. And, of course, I met Luke."

Luke beamed.

"And that's about it. Even though I was only supposed to stay here for a year, I found that I couldn't leave, so I called my parents and told them I was staying. The end!"

I thought about this. It was defiantly not as sad as Luke's, but it was still a little bit sad. 6-year-old Owen not behaving correctly for his stuck-up parents and being sent away was a sad thought. But knowing that sending him away made him really happy in the long run was a happy thought. So I guess it was a happy ending after all.

"Have you seen your parents since they sent you away?" Luke asked.

"Nope." Owen folded his muscular arms behind his head and leaned back. "Nor do I want to. I have no desire to go back to that way-too-clean house."

There was an eerie silence dwelling in the cave now.

"Whelp! I think it's time for Bo's!" Luke look thrilled.

Bo, on the other hand, didn't. "I-it's not that great. Can't you just skip me or something?"

"No." Luke and I said at the same time.

Bo's eyes grew wider. "Ok, fine." He took what I thought to be a calming breath, and began. "My name is Bo. I'm 12. Um, my favorite color is baby-blue, my favorite food is curry, and my-"

"BORIN-"

"Ok, ok! Well, um, I have a mom, a dad, and 5 older brothers. They're, uh, all really strong and fit and stuff. My dad's a construction worker and my mom owns a gym. All of my older brother's are really strong and fast and brave. B-but as you guys probably know, I'm not really like that…"

Luke gasped. "Really? No way! I had no idea!"

Owen elbowed him and Bo continued.

"So they picked on me a lot. I wasn't really respected. So when I was 9 I ran away to Casanet. I heard there was a carpenter's shop in Garmon Mines. I had always wanted to be a carpenter. So I asked Dale-"

Luke snorted. "You mean _begged_ Dale! I was there, I saw you!"

He received another elbow from Owen.

"Yeah, so he finally agreed to take me in as an apprentice, and I've been training with Luke ever since. I really like my job. I still visit my family once a year, and now they respect me a little more, which is nice."

I smiled. That was a nice ending.

"I don't think I have any questions… wait! I do!" Luke cleared his throat. "Why is your favorite color baby-blue?"

"I-I don't know, it just… is?"

"Good answer! CHASE'S TURN!"

Here we go. The thing I've been waiting for all night. I squeezed his hand slightly, as he had done to mine when it was my turn.

Chase sighed. "Ok, fine. But I'm not a story teller, so I don't know how well this is going to go…"

"We can ask questions." Owen suggested.

"Yeah!" Luke exclaimed. "First question! Who are you and how old are you? And do all that boring stuff Elana started!"

"I'm Chase, and I'm 15." He sounded bored. "My favorite color is orange, my favorite food is oranges, and my pet peeve is bad food."

I took a mental note.

"Ok…" Luke looked thoughtful. "Tell us about your family."

"I don't have one."

We all froze, staring at Chase. He still looked bored.

"So, you're an orphan?" Luke asked.

"Yup. I might have a few aunts or something in the city, but I don't really know."

"And…" Luke looked confused again, "do you remember your family?"

"Uh-huh."

"Describe them."

Chase sighed. "We lived in the city. My parents were both chefs. They taught me how to cook. I had a little sister named Annabel… she would be 11, I think."

I cringed at the 'would be'.

"…What happened?" Luke practically whispered.

Chase rolled his eyes. "There's no point in being so dramatic about it, you know."

Luke shrugged.

"Ok, well one winter when I was 10 all four of us were in my mom's car, driving home from an early Christmas party, I think." Suddenly he got that faraway look in his eyes, just like Luke had. "The roads were slippery. And suddenly a truck hit the side of our car, full speed." I muffled a gasp with my other hand. "My dad didn't have his seat belt on, and my sister was sitting right were the truck had hit, so they died on impact. My mom and I were taken to the hospital. But she died there."

"And you… weren't hurt?" Luke sounded scared at this point.

Chase shrugged. "I walked away with a few major injuries, but they all healed."

"Then what?"

"I didn't want to end up in some city-orphanage, so I heard that Master Yolanda was looking for a cooking apprentice on Casanet Island, so I moved there. I work at the Brass Bar now as a chef, and rent a house on Marimba Farm's property." He let out a bored sigh. "The end."

We were all quiet. No offense to Luke, but Chase's story was defiantly the saddest. I had no idea… he never seemed like the kind of boy who had witnessed the death of his own family…

"I don't want your sympathy." I jumped, thinking he was talking to me, but when I turned I saw he was looking at all of us. He sounded bitter. "I don't need it."

"O-ok." Luke said quietly.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, then…

"And that concludes tonight's game of MIDNIGHT COFESSIONS!" Luke jumped up and threw his arms in the air. "And the best story teller award goes to…" he made a 'drum-roll' sound with his mouth. "ME! CONGRADULATIONS! OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH! WHAT AN HONOR! OH, MY!" He bowed over and over as the rest of us clapped and tried our best to laugh. Besides Chase. He was still sitting there, staring into space.

And he had let go of my hand.

No matter how hard he pretended, I knew it had hurt him to tell us all that.

I would have to talk to him later.

**A/N: Well? What did you think? Please let me know! Thank you so much! I love reviews; they make me so happy! I know I say that at the end of every chapter, but it's true!**

** I hope you liked the pasts. I was originally going to make Owen 14 when he came to the island, and his parents sent him there as punishment for underage drinking. But then I realized that him and Luke have been friends since they were little, so that wouldn't work.**

** If you liked the pasts, or maybe just one of them, please let me know! I might write a story on one of them someday. :)**

** Next chapter will have more romance between Elana and Chase, and also a little between Elana and Luke (I hope…). But I won't give away too much yet XD**

** I'll update if you review! Thanks again!**

** ~blue-eyed-cow**


	4. Chapter 4: Whispers of Love

**A/N: Wow, it's chapter four! **

** My deepest apologies for not updating sooner. In all honesty, I know a ton of people weren't happy with chapter three. So I'm very sorry about that. For a while I just kind of gave up on this story and pushed it to the back of my mind. What brought it back to my mind was some of the more recent reviews I got. I decided, even though some people may not like this story, a lot of people still like it. And they're more important than the people that don't like it: it's their opinions that matter to me. So thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. You guys are the reason I continued this story. **

** So, enough chatter! On to the chapter! This chapter has a lot of Elana and Chase romance, and Luke finally gets that well-deserved hug! I hope this chapter makes up for the suck-ish last one.**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade of any of its characters. In fact, I barely own Elana. I mostly just own the name, because Angela is such a boring name! **

Chapter 4: Whispers of Love

I was sitting straight up against the hard, stone wall. By this time I could feel my eyelids drooping close, but I shook off my sleepiness as best as I could. I wasn't kidding when I had told the guys earlier that I was _not _going to sleep, no matter how tired I was. Call me paranoid, but I'm sure you would have done the same thing.

I was actually really, really tired. My elbow was still throbbing painfully, and this worry, fear, and all this other crap was really beginning to wear me out.

So I had found a spot about fifty feet away from the dying fire to sit. Bo had fallen asleep instantly after Midnight Confession, and after we had promised not to pull any mean pranks on him as he slept, (although I was pretty sure Luke wouldn't keep that promise). He was now curled up in front of the fire like a cat. Owen took some convincing, but he was already weak and tired from blood loss, so he finally agreed to get some sleep, and was now snoring lightly, propped up against the wall, arms crossed lightly over his muscled chest. As for the other two, I have no idea. By now they were probably asleep somewhere away from the fire, like I was. It was really hard to see if you weren't close enough to the fi-

"Hey, Elana!" I jumped, and spun around to the source of the voice. Of course I knew who it was; no one else's voice rang that much, and the only two people could be awake right now. And this certainly wasn't Chase.

I squinted my eyes through the darkness, trying to make out the dark figure of Luke. "You scared me, I didn't hear you coming." I whispered, not wanting to wake anybody up.

I could almost see him smirk. "Sorry. You're not asleep yet?" he whispered back.

I rolled my eyes. "Yup, of course I'm asleep. That would explain why I'm talking to you right now, right?"

I think he shrugged, as he sank down into a sitting position in front of me. "Well, Bo sleep talks a lot, so why not you?"

I giggled. "I'm not going to sleep, remember?"

"Really? You sound tired."

"Yeah, well…"

His voice dropped even lower. "I bet Chase would be mad if he knew I was with you right now. Remember he said he wouldn't let me stay up with you?"

I snorted. "You can stay up with me. It's not like you're sleeping with me or anything."

Luke laughed.

"Speaking of Chase, is he still awake?" I whispered.

This time, I actually did see Luke shrug. "I don't know, I haven't seen him. It's hard to tell, though. He's quiet. Heck, he could be watching us right now."

That's a pleasant thought.

We sat in silence for a while. Then I head Luke grumble, "No wonder he's such a grouch…"

"Huh?"

"Chase. His story from Midnight Confessions explains a lot, doesn't it?"

I searched Luke's face for signs of humor, but it looked pretty serious.

"I-I guess I didn't really think about it like that…"

Another awkward silence.

"Sorry about your dad." He breathed.

I was surprised. "Oh! It's ok! No big deal! Sorry about your mom…"

He smiled_ that_ smile; the one I really like. "No problem. It won me the best story teller's award, and that's all that matters, right?"

I laughed lightly. "Yeah, I guess so."

Suddenly that desire to give my best guy-friend a hug came rushing back.

"Luke?" I dropped my voice as low as it would go.

"Yup?"

"You… you know I like Chase." It wasn't a question.

Silence. Then… "Yup."

More Silence.

"You know I like you."

My heart skipped a beat. I turned to the carpenter, who looked like he was blushing furiously.

Did he… just admit he liked me?

I was silent for a second. Then… "Yup."

"I know you like Chase more, though."

The silence was really killing me. "Yup."

I felt really guilty. I couldn't even remember ever feeling this guilty.

"Luke?"

"Yup?"

Before I could think, I wrapped my arms around him tightly, pulling him into a hug. For a second he looked surprised, but then he hugged back. I, myself, was surprised. But I knew when someone needed a hug. I guess it was like an older sister reflex. Or something.

In a few seconds we split. We stared into each other's eyes, both blushing a deep shade of scarlet.

"Luke?"

"Yup?"

"Y-you're my best friend… and I don't like it when you're sad."

Luke understood. He smiled, but not his usual goofy smile. It was a smile of understanding. "Yeah. I don't like it when you're sad, either. That's why you should like Chase, not me."

"…Thanks."

"No problem-o, Elana."

He stood up, waved to me cheerily, and made his way back towards the fire, leaving me to think. So, Luke liked me. But he was letting me go after Chase. What the hell was I supposed to do now?

I sighed, staring into the darkness that seemed to never end. I hoped we'd be able to get out of here. I hoped someone would find us, and save us. Maybe Finn would help us. Or maybe Dale, or Ramsey. Someone had to be worried by now.

Right?

I pushed all negative thoughts to the back of my mind as I sat up straighter. Negative thoughts would do absolutely nothing in this situation. I just had to stay positive.

Although no one could see, I nodded to my self, determined. We were all going to be fine. We were all going to make it out of this ok.

Right?

I shook my head vigorously, shooing my doubt away. Right!

So I pried my eyes wide open, sat up tall, and just sat there. I don't know how much time passed: minutes? Hours? Bo was the only one here with a watch, and I wasn't about to wake him to find out what time it was. Him and Owen were still asleep by the dying fire, and Luke had joined them at some point; he was now sprawled across the dirt floor, limbs lying in all directions, breathing steadily. There was still no sign of Chase. I was beginning to worry. Could he have gone somewhere? Maybe to explore the cave? But he would have brought a flashlight, and I hadn't seen any turn on since we had stared the fire. Maybe he was mad, so he stormed off and got himself lost? Or maybe something's got him, and he's hurt, so he can't get back! Or maybe- maybe-

"Still not asleep?"

I let out a short yelp and spun my head to the source of the whisper. Crouching in front of me was Chase, a slightly annoyed expression on his face, his head bandaged and slightly bloody, and his face smeared with dirt. I let out a relieved sigh. He was absolutely fine, and I was so busy worrying about him I hadn't even noticed him walk up to me.

I let out a nervous laugh. "Nope! Where've you been?" I tried to make my whisper sound cheerful, but I think I failed.

He sank down next to me, cringing slightly as his bruised back made contact with the hard wall. "Same as you: in the dark, not sleeping. Why? Were you worried?"

I could almost here the smirk that accompanied that whisper. "_No, _I wasn't _worried. _I was just… curious._"_ I tried to put venom into my voice, but I regretted it when I remembered the Midnight Confessions. I shouldn't be mean to him, he must be sad right now…

"Really? So is that why you've been fidgeting for the past three minutes?"

I blushed. He had been watching me for the past three minutes! Why hadn't I noticed him!

"I wasn't fidgeting! You're eyes must be so tired that you're seeing things!" I retorted, forgetting that I should try to be nice. All niceness was gone.

"_I'm _tired? I'm not the one with bags under my eyes. You've been yawning every three seconds!"

I stiffened a yawn and glared at him. "At least I'm not the one wrapped in a bloody apron!"

"You're the one who tied the apron! And besides, if it weren't for me, _you'd _be the one wrapped in a bloody apron!"

I visibly flinched, but I couldn't stop here, even if he _was_ right. "Excuse me, I didn't ask you to save me! So stop acting like it was my fault!" I turned my head away from him, fuming. Why did he have to be so rude?

He hissed a response. "I never said it was you're fault. Besides, do you think I would let you get crushed? If you died, who would I get all my fresh produce to cook with from?" I heard a smile creep into his voice.

My face reddened even more, and this time I didn't bother to keep my voice down. "You jerk! You annoying, uncaring, jerk!" I stood up and stormed off into the darkness, surprised to find hot tears building up behind my eyelids. Why did I like him? No wonder Luke hated him! He's such a jerk!

I heard him stand up behind me, and footsteps followed close to mine. Just as I decided I'd break into a run, I felt a warm, steady hand grab my wrist, pulling me back. Surprised he caught up to me, and could let alone _see, _I struggled against his hold. "Let go!" I dropped my voice and squirmed like a child.

His grip didn't falter. "Yeah, and going and getting yourself _lost_ will defiantly help the situation. You know I was only kidding, Elana. C'mon, let's sit down." He sounded unusually calm.

I gulped down the painful lump forming in my throat and fought back my tears. I slowly let him lead me back to our place against the wall, where he sunk back down, me doing the same. I didn't look at him. I was still mad at him for saying that. I mean, I guess I should have been used to his comments, but it just seemed so, I don't know, real? Like something like that said in a life-and-death situation like this shouldn't be joked about? I don't know, just a thought.

He was the first to speak. He started it off by sighing. "I'm sorry. I, uh, didn't mean it. I guess I'm just in a bad mood."

I fought back the urge to say 'When are you _not_ in a bad mood?' Instead I said, "Yeah, it's ok. I get it."

We sat in a silence that seemed all-too-familiar for a few minutes. I fidgeted with my white gloves, now smeared with dirt, and Chase stared off into nothingness, a slightly frustrated expression planted on his face.

I gulped again. "C-chase?"

He cocked his head my way. "Yeah?"

"D-do you think we'll all get out of this ok? I mean, obviously you're already far from ok. And Owen, well, it's a miracle he's ok, and… and…" I forced myself to shut up, suddenly feeling overwhelmed again. I took a deep breath and waited.

Chase was silent for a second. Then he said, "We'll all be fine. Everything's going to turn out ok. I promise."

It was hard to mask my surprise. Chase was usually Mr. Negative, so I expected an answer more like 'We're all going to die,' or, 'Give up on that dream.'

"I promise nothing's going to happen to you."

My heart skipped a beat for what felt like the millionth time tonight. That was so sweet… what happened to that jerk sitting next to me a few minutes ago?

I felt vulnerable and scared. I wanted to curl up right now, on the spot, and cry. I wondered what Chase would do if that happened. Would he think I was a crybaby? I didn't know.

I squirmed slightly, and decided I needed to let my feelings out somehow. "I'm really scared." I admitted finally, my voice dropping so low, only Chase and I would be able to hear, (even though everyone else was already asleep.) My voice cracked halfway through as I felt a tear slip down my cheek. Curse me and my vulnerability!

I felt something warm slowly wrap its way around my shoulders. Chase had put his arm around me and had pulled me close. I froze, heart pounding furiously against my chest. Oh, my god…

"It's ok. I know you're scared. I am, too. But we're going to be ok. Ok?"

I couldn't hold it back any longer. More tears rolled down my dirty cheeks, leaving clean trails to streak my face. I snuggled up closer to his warm chest and sniffled. "Uh-huh," was all I could say.

More silence filled the damp air, broken by the sounds of water dripping in the distance, the boys by the fire snoring, Chase's breathing, and my heartbeat. Those four things seemed to be the only thing in my world right now. Everything else was just in the background, a soft drone.

"Chase?" I asked in a small voice.

"What?" He asked quietly, sounding surprisingly bored for someone in this situation.

"I'm sorry… about… y-your parents and sister and- and stuff."

I felt his breath get caught in his chest, even though he kept his voice calm. "I don't need sympathy. It doesn't make a difference. Sorry doesn't change anything, so it's a waste of time." His voice was flat, like a droid.

"Ok…" That left me to think for a few minutes, before I said, "I'm really tired."

"Then why don't you sleep?" I heard the dim humor in his voice.

"The truth is… I just _can't._" I frowned slightly, wondering why I was suddenly just telling him this. I must be more tired than I thought. "It just feels… weird, yeah know?" I looked expectantly into his deep purple eyes.

He returned the gaze, and then let out an aggravated sigh. "Well, you need to sleep, so you leave me with no other choice…" There was suddenly mischief in his tone, and before I had time to wonder what he was doing, he adjusted his seating so he was sitting on his heels, grabbed the side of my head with the arm that was holding my shoulders, and pulled. My head instantly was pulled into his lap, and I let out a surprised yelp. I blushed furiously from my position in his lap.

"Ch-Chase! Let go!" For still had his hand on the side of my head, keeping me down.

"No way," he said stubbornly. "You're going to sleep. Now."

"B-but!" I stammered. "You need to sleep, too! That head injury isn't going to heal by itself and-"

"Elana? Just, for once in your life, be quiet and relax. Don't worry about anything. Just go to sleep. I won't leave you. I'll always be right here."

Now that he mentioned it, resting my head in his lap was not only comfortable, but somehow relaxing, as awkward as the whole thing was. "…Really?"

"Really."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

My eyelids were drooping close, my vision growing blurry. I was falling asleep with my head in my crush's lap and, in all honesty, I was too tired to care.

The last thing I said before I drifted of into a heavy sleep was, "Thanks Chase."

** A/N: Hooray for falling asleep in someone's lap! **

** Did you like it? Or was it worse than chapter three? Please review and tell me what you think! There will be one more chapter, and then POSSIBLY an epilogue, but I'm not positive. **

** Thanks for reading! I'll try to update sooner next time =)**

** ~blue-eyed-cow**


	5. Chapter 5: Rescue

**A/N: …I don't think an apology will make up for it, so hopefully this chapter will…**

**Thanks so much to everyone who asked me to finish this story, and everyone who reviewed, and everyone who kept me motivated. The death threats finally worked! (And the promises of cookies...)**

** Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade, but I do own a whole lot of guilt… hoping you guys will forgive me…**

Chapter Five: Rescue

What was the weirdest dream you've ever had? Think of it right…. now. GO! Got it? Ok, now, where were you when you had that dream? Most likely in your own, comfy bed, possibly someone else's, but most likely in a bed. Right? Ok. Now imagine you've had this weird dream while trapped in a dark cave. Your cave inmates are all the opposite gender as you. You pillow is your crush's lap. So you can probably go ahead now and multiply your dream's level of weirdness by 10, because that's about equal to how weird _my _dream was that night.

_I was in the cave. I "woke up" from my sleep and yawned loudly. It was still dark, so I squinted my eyes and tried to take a look around. The fire was glowing dully a bit ways away from me. It wasn't bright enough to show me if the other guys were still sleeping around it. It must have still been dark outside of the cave, because the small hole that Luke and I had found earlier wasn't letting any light into the cave. _

_ That's when I noticed Chase wasn't with me anymore. I had been asleep on the ground, not his lap. _

_ Suddenly panicking, I spun around, trying to get my bearings and find out where Chase had gone. Maybe he was just getting some food? Yes, that was probably it. Just getting some-_

_ Suddenly there was a blinding flash of green light, and lots of screams. I spun around to the back of the cave, previously pitch black, and saw the source of the green light that now lit the entire cave up. _

_ A fifty foot-tall Bo, glowing green and smiling, was stomping his way towards me, arms outstretched like a playful zombie. At his feet where Luke and Owen screaming and running away, yelling things like, "Look out, here he comes!" or "We told him not to eat the radioactive waste, Elana, but he just wouldn't listen!"_

_ What the hell?_

_ I turned to run, but my feet were suddenly glued to the floor, and, no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't move. _

_ "Luke! Owen! Help me!" I yelled after the two boys. But they didn't hear me, and just kept running. I was too panicked to question how Owen's leg had miraculously gotten better, or where Bo had found radioactive waste, or where Chase had disappeared to. _

_ Luke and Owen ran past me, and suddenly the fifty-foot Bo was right above me, looking down at me, his mouth twisted up into a wide smile. Then he raised his foot, and brought it down upon me._

_ For a second, everything was dark. Then I opened my eyes again. I was lying on Harmonica Beach, the waves lapping over me calmly. I looked down at myself. I was covered in glowing green goo, and my clothes were sopping wet. Something was poking me with something… a stick?_

_ I sat up suddenly, eyes wide. Toby, the fisherman's nephew, was poking me with a long stick. When he saw I was awake, his eyebrows shot up. _

_ "Oh, Elana! You're awake! You better hurry, you'll be late for the wedding!"_

_ For the what?_

_ Toby grabbed my hand and hoisted me up, and next thing I knew we were running through Harmonica Town and up the hill to the church. I couldn't understand what was happening; one second I had been trapped in the cave, then radioactive Bo crushed me, then I was washed up on a beach, now I'm getting married?_

_ But that wasn't what worried me most. "Wait, Toby! I can't get married! I'm covered in green radioactive goo and I'm soaked!"_

_ "Oh, it's alright, Elana! So is the groom!"_

_ Oh, that made me feel a lot better._

_ Then I was at the church. Toby shoved me through the door, and next thing I knew I was dressed in a long, white wedding dress. The church was filled with familiar faces. Paolo, Chloe, Taylor, Toby, Owen, Gill, Candice, Renee, Cain, Craig, my cow, and many of my chickens were all there. Someone pushed me from behind again, and I found myself walking down the isle, approaching the person in the front…_

_ It was Luke, dressed in a tuxedo and his flaming bandana. However, he was also covered in the green goo. He smiled his large, goofy smile when he saw me, wearing the wedding dress yet still covered in slime. I smiled. That's cool! Luke is a cool guy!_

_ Soon I was standing next to him, and Perry was going through the usual wedding speech. I beamed. This was ok! This was good! _

_ I looked out at the people sitting on the benches, who were all smiling in unison. Even Craig was smiling, and Craig never smiled! But then I noticed someone who I hadn't noticed before, sitting in the front row, not looking in the least bit happy. It was a scowling, apron-wearing, orange-loving waiter. It was Chase._

_ That's when I remembered I didn't love Luke. I loved Chase. I couldn't marry Luke! _

_ Perry was still talking. "Do you, Luke, take Elana to be your beloved wife?"_

_ "I do!" Luke yelled merrily, bouncing up and down on his feet._

_ He turned to me. I stared at him, terrified. "And do you, Elana, take Luke to be your husband?"_

_ "No! No, I don't!"_

_ There was a collective gasp from the crowd. _

_ "I-I'm sorry, but-"_

_ "Jerk!"_

_ "How could you?"_

_ The crowd was yelling and booing. Even my cow was mooing angrily. _

_ "No, no, this is all a mistake! You don't understand!"_

_ "Elana?"_

_ It was Luke who spoke. I turned to him, nearly forgetting he was there. His cat-like eyes were wide and full of sadness._

_ "Yes?"_

_ "You don't love me?"_

_ I couldn't stand it, I turned and ran out of the church at full speed. _

_ Chase wasn't sitting on the bench anymore._

_ When I exited the church, though, I wasn't in Harmonica Town anymore. I was in some sort of shop. It took me a moment more than it should have to realize it was the jewelry store. But it wasn't filled with its usual gems. Instead, it was filled with clothes, like Sonata Tailoring. Standing in the middle of the store was Julius, wearing his usual flamboyant attire. He was talking to a short woman with snow-white hair, red eyes, and pale skin. It was the Witch Princess. _

_ "Julius, for the last time, I don't want to wear that!"_

_ Julius was holding up a pink frilly dress in front of her and scowling. "But it would look so pretty on you! It'd really bring out the color of your eyes!"_

_ The Witch Princess looked furious, her eyes blazing with anger. "I DON'T CARE!"_

_Suddenly the ceiling overhead was shaking, and a low rumble filled the perfume-scented air. Then the ceiling was collapsing, and Julius and I let out a collective gasp. I didn't want to be crushed for a second time that day!_

_Everything went black again, and the next time I opened my eyes I was looking up at a tiled ceiling. I was lying in a bed… but it wasn't mine. I was at the Choral Clinic. And the strangest part was the most unexpected person was standing over me. It was the Wizard. I didn't know him that well; he had helped me transform the witch princess back into a person and find the Green Bell, and for that I was grateful, but besides that I interacted very little with him. He never left his house. But now he was standing over me, looking at me with concern._

"_Elana? Are you alright?"_

_I moaned in response._

_The Wizard brought something out of his pocket. "Here. Someone left this for you while you were out."_

_I took it groggily and looked at it with sleepy eyes. It was a letter. It read:_

"_Dear Elana,_

_I'm leaving town for a few years. You're still asleep, so I can't say goodbye. But don't worry, Luke's here to take care of you. See you in a few years. Don't forget to name one of you and Luke's kids after me._

_Chase"_

_ I looked at it in silent shock. I raised my head back up again, about to ask the Wizard if this was legit, but he was gone. And guess who was standing in his place?_

_ "Hi, Elana!" Luke chimed happily. "I know you were probably delusional at the wedding, so don't' worry, I already scheduled another one!" He gave me a confident thumbs-up, which I returned with a look of horror. "So, I was thinking, how do you like the name Juliette for our first born? Whaddya think she'll look like? Do you think-"_

_ "Nooooo!"_

I sat straight up, panting. The first thing I did was take a look around. It was dark and cold, and the floor was hard. I was back in the cave. It was a dream. I was still in the cave with the Garmon Guys. It was a dream. It was a _dream!_

And that meant…

I had still been asleep on Chase's lap. The waiter was propped up against the stone wall, his eyes closed and his breath even. I let out a sigh of relief. Everything was ok.

I was going to lay back down on Chase's lap and go back to sleep, even though a small amount of light was now coming in through the hole by the entrance., but something stopped me. It was a voice. A voice coming from outside the cave.

"Luke?"

I stared at the blocked entrance, which was a bit ways away from me, wondering if I had imagined Dale calling out to his son. But then another voice called, "Owen!" That was Ramsey.

They kept coming.

"Bo!"

"Chase?"

"Elana!"

"Hellooooo?"

"Where are you guys?"

"Are you in there?"

It sounded as if there was a whole search party out there. I recognized Ramsey, Dale, Irene, Cain, Colleen, Jake, Hayden, and a few other adults. My heart filled with joy. We were saved! We were rescued!

Chase finally woke up, slowly at first, but when he heard the voices he was doing just as I was: staring at the entrance in shock. I quickly scooted away from him, figuring now was not the best time for him to remember last night. There were more important things to take care of.

Luke, Bo, and Owen, who had all been curled up around the fire, were also now up and awake. Naturally, Luke was the first one to run over to the entrance, practically skipping, yelling, "WE'RE IN HERE! IN THE CAVE!"

Bo hurried over to do the same. Owen stayed sitting, his leg still a mess, but also joined in with the yelling. Chase and I glanced at each other quickly, and in a second we were up and sprinting to the entrance.

"WE'RE IN HERE!"

"HELP!"

"IT'S US!"

"DID YOU BRING BREAKFAST?"

We all gave Luke a look.

"What?"

Finally, they heard us. "Luke, is that you?"

"POPS!"

"We're going to get you all out of there! Is everyone alright?"

"Owen can't walk, but we're all alive! All four of us!"

There was a pause, then Dale yelled, "Wait, _four?_ What happened to the other one?"

Luke quickly counted on his fingers, then chuckled nervously. "Oops! Sorry, Pops, I meant five!"

I heard Dale grunt with disapproval.

Then a new voice spoke up. It was a slightly flat, soft, mysterious voice. On normal circumstances it would have taken me a few minutes to recognize who it was, but I had heard it recently; just a few minutes ago, in fact. It was the Wizard.

"Clear the entrance. Get back as far as you can."

The guys and I looked at each other, confused, but did as he said nonetheless. Maybe the guys questioned the Wizard's true power, since most townspeople merely viewed him as a fortuneteller, but I certainly didn't. We all turned to run, Luke and Chase heading for Owen so they could help him, and then, suddenly…

BOOM!

The rocks that had trapped us in the cave were blasted away in a flash of blinding light. We all dropped onto the ground, covering our heads protectively.

I don't know why I was the only one to get hit. It might have been the spot I was standing in, or maybe I didn't get down fast enough. Whatever the reason, a rock, not big but big enough to hurt, was blasted from the entrance and hit me square in the back of the head. For a second, the world was lit up with bright, flashing lights, dancing through my vision. Then it all went black.

And this time, it wasn't a dream.

* * *

Everything was dim and foggy. My head was aching dully, and the world seemed to spin where I lay. I think it was the voices that woke me up. Again.

"Yes, she has a mild concussion and some bruising, and her elbow is swollen, but noting is broken, thankfully."

"I see. Well, it's a miracle we found those kids. Hopefully the blacksmith's great-nephew will be alright."

"He should be fine, eventually. There was some shattering of bone, but nothing worthy of amputation. No, these kids will be just fine."

"That's great to hear."

I finally opened my eyes. My vision took a few seconds to focus, and when it did, I saw just what I expected: I was in Choral Clinic. Irene and Hayden were speaking quietly a few feet away from my bed. When Irene noticed I was awake, she gave me a warm smile.

"Nice to see you're finally awake, Elana. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts, but beyond that I'm pretty good," I answered groggily, not bothering to sit up.

"That's good. You had us worried when Mr. Wizard accidentally knocked you out with that fancy little trick he did. You have a minor concussion, but it's nothing a little rest won't heal right up."

"Thank you, Irene."

She nodded. "Any time, dear. Luke and Bo were telling me what an amazing nurse you are! How very responsible." She winked at me. "Way to show those boys, hm?"

I laughed. "Yeah."

Hayden said goodbye and left quietly. There was no one else in the room.

"Irene, how are Chase and Owen?"

"Chase is fine; he has some bruising to his back and head, but he's just fine. As for Owen, it's not so serious that it needs to be amputated, but there are some major fractures and breaks. It'll be in a cast for a bit, but I think he'll be just fine."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks so much, Irene."

"You're welcome. Now, if you don't mind, you have a visitor that has been very eager to talk to you."

I sighed. I knew this was coming. I knew Luke would want to see me the second I was awake. "Alright."

Irene left for a few minutes, probably to fetch Luke. I stared up at the tiled ceiling, thinking. Everyone was alright. We were back in town. But there were still questions to be answered…

Irene came back a few minutes later, during which I sat up against the backboard of the bed. However, with her was not who I was expecting at all. With her was a small woman with snow-white hair, red eyes, and pale skin.

Witch Princess?

I didn't know her well. I rarely visited her. Her house was a bit creepy and hard to access. She didn't seem like the friendliest person in the world, either. That's why the most surprise of all came when she ran over and hugged me around the neck.

"Oh, Elana, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for you to get trapped in there with all those _boys! _I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt! I'm so sorry! I'll make it up to you; I'll make you any kind of potion you want! You name it, I'll make it! Love potion, invisibility potion, poison potion, even-"

"W-Witch Princess?"

"What?" she asked, releasing me from the hug.

"What are you talking about?"

"It was _me_ who trapped you in the cave! You see, I was collecting some bee carcasses from a hive I poisoned in a tall tree for a potion, when I saw that annoying boy Luke walking through the woods! I _hate_ that kid! He's always chopping down trees on my property line and scaring away all the animals that live in my swamp! All I wanted to do was scare him, honest, and I didn't see there were other people with him! I saw him stop to look at a cave, so I decided to make some loud noises with the rocks to scare him. But the spell went out of control and they all fell! I didn't know what to do, so I went to go get Gale-"

"Who?"

"The Wizard!"

"Ah."

"Anyways, I went to get Gale because his magic is stronger than mine, so then we got a search party to look for you, and… yeah, that's about it."

I stared at her for a second.

She stared back at me, looking very guilty.

Then I burst out laughing.

The Witch frowned in annoyance. "What's so funny?"

I kept laughing, wiping tears from my eyes. "Everything! The fact that we were trapped in there because you wanted to scare Luke is funny!" The Witch still looked slightly distressed, so I did my best to stop laughing and continued, "But it's alright, really, I know it was an accident."

She looked relieved. "Oh, good. I don't care if the boys are mad at me, as long as the only sensible one isn't!"

We laughed together.

When we were done, I added, "But actually, there is one potion that would be really helpful if you _could _make it…"

She flipped her hair triumphantly. "Of course! I can make almost anything!"

She came closer to me and I whispered my idea into her ear.

She gave me a skeptical look. "Are you sure that's what you want to use it on?"

I nodded, more than positive, and she sighed. "Alright, alright."

Just then, a familiar, bandana-wearing, blue-haired, fiery carpenter burst through the door of the room. His face was still covered in dirt, as were his clothes; he must not have gone home to shower yet. Either that or he just doesn't shower at all.

"Elana, you're awake! I was so worried when-" He stopped short when he caught sight of the Witch Princess.

His eyes narrowed.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Witch Princess," he said curtly, his mouth a straight line.

"Luke," she responded, spitting out the name like venom.

They glared at each other for a few more seconds, until the Witch finally flipped her hair, gave me a wave, and marched out of the room. Luke waited until the door closed behind her. When it did, he was right back to talking. "-you got hit in the head and then you were unconscious and we had to bring you all the way back and-"

"Why do you hate the Witch Princess?" I asked out of curiosity.

He laughed. "Oh, I don't hate her, I just like to mess with her." He gave me a playful wink, and I laughed, too.

"So anyways, Pops was really mad, but really happy, and everyone else was happy, so we're kind of like heroes. Well, heroes in a whole lot of trouble. You're so lucky you don't live with any adults, Elana, I'm grounded for a million gazillion years and-"

Someone standing behind Luke cleared his throat loudly. The carpenter spun around and was face to face with none other than Chase. I shivered. How had he gotten in here without anyone noticing?

For a second they just looked at each other, Luke looking surprised and Chase looking bored, as usual. He had new, clean bandages wrapped around his head. His clothes were still dirty, but he must have washed his face, for it was sparkling again. At least he followed the simple riles of proper hygiene, unlike _some _people.

It must have been a guy thing, but I could have sworn Chase and Luke were having a telepathic conversation just then. After a few seconds of silence, Luke spun around back to me, gave me a toothy grin, and chimed, "Well, Elana, I'll leave you to it!" Then he left without another word, shutting the door behind him.

Now it was me and Chase's turn to just stare at each other. I wish I could say we had some awesome telepathic conversation, too, but I couldn't read his expression. What else is new?

Finally, looking down at his feet, he asked, "How's your head?"

"It's fine," I answered. "How's yours?"

"Fine."

There was another long silence. We were both looking at anything other than each other. Then the waiter let out a sigh. "Well, I think Luke and company probably wants to keep talking nonsense to you, so I'll make this quick…" He then walked over next to my bed, and before I knew what he was up to, planted a small kiss on my cheek. Then he said, "Scare me like that again and you're dead." He left the room before I could notice how red his cheeks were, or before he could notice how red mine were.

I stared at the door. Then I smiled.

Who says being trapped in a cave with your crush is a bad thing?

**A/N: Epilogue time! Hopefully it won't take me a year to write it like this chapter did.**

** Did I earn some reviews? :D**

** ~blue-eyed-cow**


	6. Epilogue

**A/N: Epilogue time! Told you it wouldn't take a year to update. Because I mean, seriously, who does that? **

** Disclaimer: Nope.**

A week had passed since our rescue, and we had all returned to our semi-normal lives on Castanet Island. Dale made Luke and Bo go right back to work the second they returned from the Choral Clinic, and also grounded them for two weeks, not allowing them to do anything but work. Dale pinned most of the blame on his son, (it _was_ his idea in the first place, after all), so he ended up letting Bo off easy. But Luke was worked to the bone after that. One night, five days after the cave incident, he illegally stopped by my house after chopping down some trees in Fugue Forest just to tell me how horrible it was. I couldn't help but laugh when he once again commented on how lucky I was to live alone.

Owen was recovering very well, especially after he drank the healing potion I instructed the Witch to make. She warned me not to just hand it to him and tell him to drink it, though; she didn't want her work "going public", as she put it. So I told Ramsey to just slip it to him in a drink, which he happily agreed to. So far the effects were quite nice: the bones were healing much quicker than anyone expected, and Owen was almost completely back to his old self, besides the fact that he now had to use a crutch to walk around, and he couldn't go mining for several weeks, which he wasn't too happy about. Ramsey couldn't thank me enough for the potion, which I was happy he didn't ask too many questions about.

I thought what happened at Choral Clinic between Chase and I would make things awkward now, because that's what usually happened when the occasional signs of any romantic interest reared its ugly head. But, surprisingly enough, we actually became close to friends after that day. We hung out more, visited each other sometimes, and shared quite a few laughs, (something I wouldn't think possible for the waiter when I first met him). I was really happy. And I think he was really happy, too.

It was one step closer to love.

The adventure with the guys had ended, but it certainly left its mark. And what a good mark it was!

**A/N: And here it ends! I want to thank absolutely EVERYONE who read, reviewed, and kept up with this story! I owe you guys so much :)**

** Please review and tell me what you think, even if it's over now! Thanks so much!**

** Now it's time for some advertisement! If you liked this, chances are you might like some of my other Harvest Moon stories. Feel free to check any of them out!**

** Also, everyone should check out my dear friend ****theatrelove123****! She's written some very awesome Harvest Moon stories, mostly about our favorite: Chase and Luke!**

** Also, my dear little sister, ****Spazzy Bunny****, just posted her first Harvest Moon story! For anyone who isn't all about the mooshy-gooshy romance stuff Harvest Moon stories are usually filled with, she's the author for you! Her creativity matches no others! But be warned: character death is a norm ;) She's such a good writer, though, and her and I would both appreciate it so much if you read and reviewed her story 'The Explosion'! Thanks!**

** Thanks again for reading. You guys are the best :)**

** ~blue-eyed-cow**


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